In an exclusive interview with Satish Padmanabhan, Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot speaks about his government's plans for Rajasthan, Hindutva and the possible outcome of the forthcoming general elections.

From a businessman filing police complaint for his missing chappal to Rajasthan Police repurposing lines from Deepika Padukone's movie to encourage people to vote, read this and much more in The Subcontinental Menu.

Dausa...This epicentre of the Gurjjar reservation agitation used to be Sachin Pilot’s seat till delimitation made it a reserved constituency [reserved for STs] Reservation is the biggest poll issue. Several Gurjjars died fighting for it in the bloody protests of 2007 and 2008. And their determination to obtain Scheduled Tribe (ST) status is matched only by the rival [ST]Meena community’s determination to not allow them to get it.

Since this seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and since Gurjjars in Rajasthan, not being STs, could not contest this seat, they brought in Qammar Rabbani Chechi, a Muslim Gurjjar from Jammu and Kashmir, to fight for the cause of Gurjjar reservation

Chechi qualified because in J&K, Gurjjars are ST. By coming to contest in Rajasthan, he also underscored a fact that had been apparent during the agitations — that Gurjjar caste loyalties can overshadow state boundaries.